It's been a while.........................you're welcome!
What we are accomplishing in this academic response is really to reinforce the discussions we had in class.
Your response is due on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH BY 9PM. =)
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/animals
Requirements:
- 12 - 15 sentences
- Pay particular attention to the types of prejudices that were presented
- What acts of discrimination did you see and how do you define it?
- Select the FIVE (5) MOST SIGNIFICANT WORDS OR PHRASES; List them separately and write about them separately. Consider: How did these words AFFECT the story? What was the author's purpose and how did his word choice help him achieve that purpose?
- What is the message the author was sending?
Come to the Leo Club Pancake Feed on Tuesday, November 15th...................... =)
TEST
ReplyDelete"For months, I assumed that this school was reserved for children with “special needs.”' (Rich) "Animals" was written by Simon Rich to show the oppression and inhumane treatment that the Dominant culture gives and shows to the minority culture. Princess Jasmine is the father of Whopper, Big Mac, and Mr. T. Mr. Jasmine is a hamster who has just lost his wife because "Gremlins... Sociopaths and the mentally deranged." kids did not feed them so they couldn't survive. Mr. Jasmine describes these kids like this because for all his life he has known oppression being caged in and not being cared for in the way he needs to survive. He is willing at one point to give up his life to provide for his sons, so that they might have a future even if he doesn't. In this story The hamsters are representing black people and other minority cultures. Carlos is a janitor and happens to be Hispanic. He is shown just above the hamsters in the fact that he works for the school, and the hamsters are owned by the school. Throughout this article Rich reminds us of how racist the dominant culture can be when the children and principle talk to Carlos. Simon Rich is trying to point out that the dominant culture is racist and oppressive but by him showing this too us he is being racist and oppressing the minority by relating them to animals. The White kids can't even do there "tasks", of feeding the hamsters so that they can survive. In my opinion what Simon Rich missed in our history is that the minority culture and mainly the black people never needed to depend on us to survive. It was never the "Whites" responsibility to take care of the Blacks. They never should have been thought less of or even put down to the standards of animals. The dominant culture is discriminating against the minority culture in many ways such as not treating the hamsters with the respect they need. By humiliating the father by naming him and calling him a girl. People read the start of the article and feel absolutely no remorse for the loss of life at the start. This is because they do not understand the fact that this hamster has represented the history of America and how the white people have treated the black people horribly and without remorse, because they were compared to animals than and know... -Connor
ReplyDeleteIn "Animals" it is clear that the dominant culture has prejudices toward and discrinates against the minority culture. All the people at the school represent the dominant culture while the hamsters and Carlos represent the minority culture. An example of prejudice from the story is when Princess Jasmine describes the children as rich, spoiled and gremlins. This shows that the minority culture also has prejudices towards the dominant culture but the prejudice was never acted on so it is not discrimination. But the dominant culture did act upon their prejudice and an example of this is when the children said "Hola" and "Adios" to Carlos even though he speaks English. The children just assumed he spoke Spanish because he was Mexican. This doesn't seem that bad since they are just kids but the principal does the same thing when he says "Gracias" after telling Carlos to clean something up. The word choice that Simon Rich uses is important to the story because it makes the reader realize the purpose of the story. The purpose is to show discrimination and he does this by using phrases like "little racists". Princess jasmine also shows his hate for the dominate culture by saying the children have been taught they're "infallible" meaning the dominant culture thinks they are perfect. Simon uses the words "wild animals" to describe the hamsters who happen to represent minorities. He also uses the phrase "those animals" which is similar to the phrase "those people" that people offen use to describe a group that they don't like. Another phrase that Simon uses that shows that the purpose of the story is discrimination is when he says "Every job belongs to Carlos". This shows prejudice towards Mexican because of the stereotype that they work a lot and have manual labor jobs.
ReplyDeleteEvie
ReplyDeleteThe difference between prejudice and discrimination is that prejudice is more about attitude, while discrimination is more about the act of doing something. There were different discriminatory acts and prejudice strewn throughout the story. For example, discrimination is being shown when the children are saying “Hola” to Carlos. Even though Carlos is an American citizen, and speaks fluent English, they still speak to him in Spanish because he looks of Latino heritage. Prejudice is shown when the author calls the rich, privileged children ‘Gremlins’ or ‘monsters’. Let’s be honest, each and every one of us were monsters at the age of 7, so it is unfair that he is referring to these specific children. Many wealthy children use their privileges to make more opportunities for themselves. Struggle; it defines parts of each of our lives. The author uses this word choice to strongly show the emotions of the main hamster, how he is dependent on others to survive, but his children are dependent on him. Elite; this word describes how the author describes the school. These are the people that are controlling the hamster. In other words, majority is controlling the minority. Death; this word is particularly important, because the author portrays that one word, or one action can mean the death of a family. Even something so tiny can drastically change someone’s life. Suffered; this word describes the hamster’s family. Even in the hamster’s most searing pain and agony he feels grateful that Simon has not taken it out on one of his children. This is important, because it gives the hamster the feeling that he can control something. The least the hamster can do is protect his children. Hercules; this is probably the most important word. Hercules is meant for heroes, which this hamster is. The hamster was willing to give up himself for his children, which is the ultimate sacrifice one can do. The author’s message is about Carlos. The hamster is simply a metaphor for him. Carlos is going through a living nightmare, trying to still protect and care for his three children. The author’s message is that the minority does not need to be controlled by the majority, and that there will always be some way out even if it is hidden to the blind eye.
Makinsey Pladsen
ReplyDeleteIn "Animals" many examples of prejudices and discriminatory acts are being shown. When the children say "Hola" to Carlos, assuming he knows Spanish because he "looks" like it. But he fluently speak English. Examples of prejudice is shown when the author calls the kids monsters, creatures and hobgoblins. There are many significant words or phrases the author had used throughout the story. "Controlled" that one word, is very important. It may not seem like it, but the majority is controlling the dominant culture. "Hercules" is also very important. This is the hamsters name, and there is many reasons behind his name. He was willing to "sacrifice" his life because they weren't getting food or water. "What little dignity I had was long gone". The little kids seemed to torture the hamsters sometimes. "Picks him up by his tail". They also put dressed on them and made them look like girls. His dignity is lost. "Trust". He knew he could trust his kids but there was really no hope until the end. The authors message was that the minority cultures tends to control the dominant culture and people may not realize it, but it happens way to often.
In "Animals" By Simon Rich, there are a lot of examples of prejudice and discrimination. One way that there's prejudice is when they teacher tells the hispanic janitor to make sure he disinfects the area, as to assume that hes stupid. A way they show discrimination is speaking to him in Spanish just because hes hispanic. The principle also wants the Janitor to be the one to take the hamsters out to the trash can and kill them like its his "job" to do everything for everyone. The hamsters are like Carlos, the janitor, in the story. The kids pick up the hamster by its tail and dress him in a dress, this is like how they treat the janitor because they act like both of them aren't worthy enough to be treated with respect. The hamster calls the kids derranged and monsters and said how he thought that that was a school for special needs kids. I think the word choice for this story fits well because it shows how the minority culture could think of the dominant culture. The teacher has hamsters in her classroom for the kids and gives someone the responsibility to feed and take care of them each week but even if the kids dont do their job, she doesn't step up to take care of them. This is like how the dominant culture claims they want to help the minorities but are always trying to pass off the job to someone else because they don't care that much.
ReplyDeletePrejudice and discrimination are two different things. Prejudice is more about attitude, while discrimination is more about the act of doing something. There were different discriminatory acts and prejudice strewn throughout "Animals". The first example is while the boys were having a milk drinking contest and one of the boys got sick. The teacher called in the Carlos the janitor, and the students all said "Hola" to him as if he only spoke Spanish. Everyone in the story treats him inferior and has no respect towards him. While he was cleaning the puke, the teacher kept talking to him as if he didn't know how to do his job. Then she complained about having to go to some concert. That shows the dominant versus the minority culture.The hamster calls the kids derranged and monsters. The authors word choice shows the differences between the two cultures.The kids are given a weekly task yet most of them never do it, like simon. He forgot to feed the hamsters. But of course the teacher knows that would happen and that the jobs are Carlos jobs. He picks up the slack of the kids. Another good example of the differences between the two cultures is the kids and the hamsters. The kids represent the dominant culture. While the hamsters are the minority. The kids named the one of the hamsters after a princess even though it was a male. That shows that the dominant culture decides what happens in society. The author was just trying to show how its split, and how in the past how he made mistakes he regrets.
ReplyDeleteIn the article "Animals", there were a lot of discriminatory moments. Both the principal and the teacher were discriminating against Carlos even though he was American born, they say "Hola" and simple things to suggest he is lower than them. Every job that was needed to be done within the school belonged to Carlos. I defined that as something that could relate to America in some ways; the minority culture does do jobs that aren't as noticed and doesn't get a lot of credit for it. Another discriminatory act was when the hamster said, "What little dignity I had is long gone". In a way, this shows that he was only to serve the dominant culture.
ReplyDeleteThe first word/ phrase that kind of affected me was when the hamster was talking about being pulled by the tail which was back breaking for him. This phrase immediately shot my attention to slavery when each day, slaves would literally be breaking their backs for the dominant culture. It's so important to the story because the persons breaking the hamsters back (or minority culture) is of the dominant culture. It almost proves the fact that the dominant culture does these things without fully seeing their consequences.
The second phrase that affected me was "whatever dignity I had left was long gone." This was when the hamster was getting the dress out on him and his children were watching. I think for any parent reading this, they can relate to this in the way that they don't want their children to see them in that kind of light. It almost brings attention to how the minority culture can almost be laughed at during movies and in some ways, the minority culture can be humiliated in that sense in front of their children.
The third phrase that I was drawn to was "wild animals". Back in English we talked about Black Streotypes and how they can and have been drawn as animals. Well in this sense, white educated people are reading this article and once they see how minority views the majority, it can help them understand and feel the way minority cultures have felt for years.
The fourth phrase/ scene that startled me was when the hamsters were picked up by the students. In a way, it gave me a puppet imagery and that related to the minority culture is controlled by the dominant. By adding that piece in there, I personally cringed at the fact of that controllment so I'd assume that's what the author wants the readers to feel as well.
The fifth and final phrase that startled me was "those animals". It was an allusion to "Rasin in the Sun" because that's what the rich white guy said to Walter's family. The author wrote that so educated people reading this could connect the two and realize that discrimination is still apparent and happening even after that play was written.
Niq
ReplyDeleteI believe Rich's goal was to show the reader discrimination through the eyes of a hamster. The children of room 2K symbolize the privileged citizens in our society while the hamsters symbolize lower class citizens. Privileged individuals don't see or understand the hardships of those who aren't as well off as they are. The children of room 2K are rich kids who get everything handed to them, they expect things, they've spent so long sitting around waiting for things that now they can't even take care of themselves. The hamsters are helpless, they're the polar opposite of the children, they have nothing and rarely receive anything, every single day is a struggle for survival. The only hope the hamsters have is in Carlos, the janitor. He's the only one who truly takes care of them because he understands their struggle; Carlos himself is an only father struggling to put food on the table for his three daughters just like Princess does for his three boys. The school takes advantage of Carlos as well as the hamsters, they're there to entertain them, to pick up their messes, and to make the school feel humble and diverse. They don't mean anything to them they are just there and always will be there. If they ever disappear they'd be replaced in an instant. Rich's story is a great representation of the discrimination against poor minority cultures. No one cares about them or bothers to notice them. The majority looks down upon the minority, takes them for granted because they're not "like them". Minorities are seen as "lower class" because they're not as great as the majority group. The way society treats minorities is represented by how the children treat the hamsters: They're different. Therefore they aren't important.
I really like the story "Animals", I think it was a fun way to subtly identify the social issues we have in this country today when it comes to the race and financial divide. the prejudice in the story was very important because it allowed us as readers to see how the kids treated the hamsters and their lack of concern for the animals and how the staff treated Carlos and the lack of respect they had for him as a person. I think that the discriminatory acts in "Animals" are very significant to society today which is what I think Simon Rich was trying to get at when writing it. I think the symbolism in the story is revealed to us through acts that happen and who they happen to. The hamster in the story is tormented by these horrible kids and after reading the whole story and you can tell that the Hamsters are a parallel to the minority culture. While the kids are equivalent to the dominant culture in society. With this idea in mind the part where the kids ultimately lead the hamsters to almost being thrown away show us how Simon Rich felt about how the dominant culture really responds to the minority culture standing up for themselves, they try to dispose of them. Some of the most significant words in the whole story is how the hamsters see the children, they call them words like Deranged, Sociopaths, and Monsters. This is important because it shows us how the minority culture really sees the dominant culture, as scary and aggressive. Some of the other most important words in the story are "Hola" because this is how the children talk to the janitor showing that even at such a young age this is what they know, they assume that he is a foreign born individual who would need to be thanked in his assumed foreign language. However, I think that a scarier, important word id " Gracias" this is also said to the janitor with the same assumption as a kid but this time the word came from the principal, I think that this is scarier because this is where the kids are learning this. That even at an old age when you should know right from wrong you still think it is acceptable to make these assumptions. In this word Simon Rich shows us the scary but true fact that even the people who educate or children are still ignorant to make these assumptions and pass on the precedent of prejudice to young minds. I think the message the author was trying to send was ultimately a direct representation of the divide between the dominant culture and the minorities. Also the fear that most minority cultures have about standing up to the dominant culture. Whether that be with the relationship between the hamsters and that students or sadly the very more real relationship between the Hispanic janitor and the rich white staff.
ReplyDelete- Natalee Diaz
The difference between prejudice and discrimination is definitely noticable, and in animals we see both of them. Discrimination can be anywhere from degrading someone based on their social status, putting down someone because of ethnicity and stereotypes of their cultural background.Prejudice is more about the ideas that people believe in and the way they "would" go about handling things. A specific instance in the story where i saw prejudice and discrimination was when The janitor came in to clean up puke. The man named carlos was discriminated and prejudice was shown. The entire group of kids all said "hola" to carlos which shows how they automatically assume just because of his skin color and hispanic looks, that he speaks spanish. To me, the way that the author picks and chooses words is intentional. The author wants us to see prejudice and discrimination more easily. Dominant culture plays a role in this as well. When the teacher complained about having to go to a show that night. This shows how easy the dominant culture has it and how much complaining there actually is. One specific instance that i remember is when the hamsters are being tormented by the kids. This was clearly written by the author to show minority culture, where the minority was the hamster and the kids were representing the dominant culture. Words like gracias and hola were used and those two definitely are important to me because they show the stereotype towards carlos and the fact that all of the kids thought that he spoke spanish just because he looked hispanic. The real reason i think the author wrote this peace was to connect with people around the world about one of the most influential social issues-racism and discrimination. The author wants to use metaphors and symbolism to describe to the general public and inform them on this issue. I think the way he wrote it does a better job of touching people because it allows them to empathize with feelings, and it doesn't just come straight up and introduce the topic of discrimination in its bland and bold state.
ReplyDeleteJackson Curtis
ReplyDeleteIn this short story a type prejudice is introduced to the reader through Carlos. Carlos is the school janitor, and most of the children and staff greet him and dismiss him in Spanish, all under the assumption that just because he is Latino he is a fluent Spanish speaker. We learn in the story however that this is far from the case, as he can only speak English.
There are some striking parallels made between the hamster In the story and Carlos. One being that they are both seemingly single, another being that they have three children, and another in the fact that the hamster makes note of Carlos' Christian beliefs and states that "I too, am a Christian. So if these parallels mean that these are mirror characters then acts of physical discrimination can be seen in the story. Such as when the hamster is dressed as a girl and called by a female name. Or when children like Simon grab him by the tail and lift him up, hurting his spine. (Side note: seems relevant when talking about the work ethics of immigrants) the discrimination towards other people is seen symbolically through that of the hamster.
"Sociopaths"- to be a sociopath is to lack the nessisary requirements for social interaction, to lack a conscience if you will. For the hamster to refer to these children (and in the grander scheme of things the suppressing upper-class America) as a group of sociopaths is quite interesting word choice. The reader knows they are not sociopaths, however that perspective changes in the eyes of the hamster or Carlos.
"Killers"- the children are referred to as killers for their murder of the hamsters wife. Although this could have a deeper meaning. Perhaps we, as upper class Americans are all killers of the dream?
"Hobgoblins"- a hobgoblin is an ugly creature of mythology that instills fear within people. Perhaps calling the children hobgoblins is a way of the author telling us that upper class America run of fear, and instill fear into others to operate.
"Nightmare"- Important parallels drawn here, the janitor Carlos calls the hamster "Hercules" because of his strength. How he can "...work long hours, even though it's a living nightmare". The hamster earlier in the story says "the nightmare has begun" when the day starts.
"Strong"- A good word Carlos uses to describe the hamster. Keeping in mind that he and the hamster are the same, and that both are a part of the minority lower class America, one could say that this is what the author is calling that group of people: "strong".
In a society where privileged Americans award each other for doing nothing while the poor lower classes suffer, Simon Rich constructed a story in which he personifies a hamster to represent this unfortunate group of people. Just before death however, the hamster is saved and taken in by Carlos, a lower working class janitor. Perhaps it is an observation by the author that only the other lower classes are willing aid the lower classes?
I personally found the short story “Animals” very interesting, the vocabulary and topic kept me as the reader interested. There were multiple cases of prejudice, some from the children and some from the adults in the story. One of the first being the children as they shout “Hola” to Carlos the janitor assuming he speaks spanish. This adds to the story causing the reader to think of the children and how they’re prejudice and how that might come to be. Another immediately following is the teacher presuming Carlos is incompetent at his own job. This can be seen as addressing a potential stereotype. In numerous more occasions we see Carlos receive prejudice comments. Well, thanks to a dictionary i can definitively say that prejudice is forming an opinion or assuming something without any cause or reasoning. The children and adults presume Carlos is a spanish speaker based merely on his name or skin color. Again we see Carlos greeted with an “Hola” but this time by the principal, someone in authority and respected, someone if anyone who would be aware of potential offensive behavior. This adds to the scenery and timeline as even the adults in authority use prejudices. From this article, i can personally say that i became more aware of how certain things can be considered prejudice, even if that wasn't the intent. The author was trying to bring awareness that some things are still prejudice and how we might more actively address it in our own lives.
ReplyDeleteThere were many prejudices presented in Simon Rich’s piece “Animals.” The guinea pigs represented the minority culture, and also symbolized Carlos, and the school kids, teacher, and parent represented the majority culture. It was very interesting that Rich decided to tell the story from the perspective of the guinea pigs because it catches readers off guard. This was a very good way to get readers engaged and thinking because it’ll eventually hit them that guinea pigs are treated like Carlos because they are both part of a minority. Paralleling Carolos to the guinea pigs really presents the thought of how much the dominant culture degrades and belittles people of a minority culture and can easily make readers question their actions. Prejudice acts are like when the author calls the kids “spoiled,” “privileged,” or “monsters,” and discriminatory acts would be like when Carolos is spoken to in Spanish or the guinea pigs are picked up by their tales.
ReplyDeleteSignificant words or phrases:
“Monsters”: This word is used from the minority’s viewpoint about the dominate culture and when you really consider it, it’s not a very shocking word to use because minority cultures here in America probably do view the majority as monsters sometimes. As a part of the majority culture, we are not always accepting and are often prejudice and discriminate so it is perfectly understandable why they would view us as monsters.
“Hola, Gracias, and Adios”: These words are used in the story to really parallel to how ignorant the majority culture can be towards Hispanic people by how we’ll just assume that if they look a certain way, they must know a certain language.
How the hamsters were physical treated and handled: Imagery for how the majority culture will often push, shove, drag, and deprive the minority culture of their rights or happiness because we see them as different or “less” than us, which is so untrue.
“Killers”: the kids are the killers of the animals in this story which symbolizes how the majority, privileged people in America will often “kill” the hopes, aspirations, and potential of the minority.
Carlos doing the nitty-gritty jobs: Carlos does the jobs that keeps the school running. Without Carlos, the school would be (even more) of a wreck. This is like how the minority culture in America often does the laborious jobs that, if not done, would greatly affect our country. They uphold the working class and are sadly underappreciated, just like Carlos.
The author’s genius diction and syntax really entertains readers, but also conveys the strong message that maybe the majority is really the “animals.” It provides a unique viewpoint on stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination that shows the inversed opinions of the minority that we often don’t consider.
I liked reading "Animals" by Simon Rich because it told the story of a class pet and how it may not be the only "animal" in the room. Rich also used the pet, a hamster, to relate how minorities are treated by the majority culture or group. The class often greeted Carlos by saying "Hola," but he didn't even speak Spanish. The teacher also makes little remarks to Carlos on how to do his job, but he simply disregards it. These remarks bring up prejudice and discrimination. I would define discrimination as the acting out of prejudice against someone or something. Another time this is seen in the story is when Simon's mother wants the hamsters killed because her son was stupid enough to stick his nose up to the cage. Instead of telling her son not to be so annoying, she wants others to change. This could also be seen as the majority culture wanting the minority to change their ways instead of the majority changing or altering their views.
ReplyDelete"I like to imagine that the service was respectful..." - All that Princess Jasmine could do was hope that the service of his dead wife was carried out well by her killers. Even though he knew they most likely didn't care too much, he still had hope. He carries this hop throughout the story.
"mentally deranged" - The kids were seen as normal in the eyes of the teacher, but were seen as "terrors" from the hamsters view and were relying on them for survival. This showed how the hamsters and Carlos viewed the children of room 2K.
"candidates" - Almost like Rich was trying to say the survival of the minority relied on a candidate, like politics in America. The lives of the hamsters was all up to the kid chosen for the job.
"Whatever dignity I had is long gone." - Princess Jasmine had lost all and was only pushing through the struggle for his children. This showed that he had nothing else to lose.
"The only exception is line leader, which of course is a privilege that he will never get to enjoy." - Carlos had to do all of the jobs that the children were told to do, but never did. The minority was expected to clean up if someone else had not done their job. He was what kept everything in order.
Simon Rich wrote this story for a very good reason. He wanted to get across to people that discrimination starts when we are very young and the only way to change it is to stop it at the source. He also wanted to show that minorities could be working very hard and don't get anywhere close to climbing up the social ladder. He showed this when Carlos had named the father hamster, Hercules. "Because he's tough, And strong, And he works long hours, even though it's a living nightmare." Rich shows that Carlos, like many minorities, were trying to do as much as they could to improve their situation.
Some of the prejudices that I saw as the most present and prominent in the article were, rich people are automatically spoiled, Jadism, class clown, infallible (perfect and blameless as gods), and racist thoughts towards the janitor. Some acts of discrimination that we saw occur in the article include "indulgent", obese, racist comment and acts towards the janitor, and just the fact that every job in the school was Carlos' job. The purpose of the author is to promote his message which is, to try and deter more people from stereotyping and discriminate people because of their gender or race or social-economic class, among other things. There were five significant words and phrases that stuck out to me. The hamster described the students as "deranged", "sociopaths", and "nightmares". This affects the story because it starts off the story by showing the animals point of view and perspective in the classmates that he is observing. The author also said the word "starving" numerous times to describe the animals just to show the readers how hungry these class animals were. The hamster said "whatever dignity I had was gone" which shows just how desperate he had been to supply food for his children. The school asked the women who was the mother of the child that had been bitten, "how can we regain your trust" cause it is a private school and the school doesn't want her trying to go she the school for what had happened. The women described the pets as "...those animals..." in a very immense attitude to show how little she thought of them and said she wanted them "destroyed" which displayed to the reader how passionate she was about such a small issue like this that happened.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story "Animals" by Simon Rich we see countless examples of prejudice and descrimination. The primary prejudice seen is the majority culture trying to destroy or snuff out the minority culture. Early in the story we learn that Simon Rich, is to take care of the hamsters for the week. Simon, also being the name of the Author, is trying to acknowledge his own prejudices. We see racial discrimination with Carlos and how the childeren and even the principal say things like "Hola", "Adios" and "Gracias". Princess jasmine even shows us the irony in the fact that he (a wild animal) calls the children "wild animals". He shows us that these children have been raised to crush the minority culture. When Princess Jasmine talks about the jobs board he explains that "All of the jobs belong to Carlos". This shows how the minority cultures are really the backbone of our society and without them, we could not function. When Simon picks up PJ he describes being picked up as "back breaking". This acknowledges how little care the dominant culture has for the minority culture, Simon could care less if it hurts him and continues to do it. Lastly when Simons mother says she wants the hamsters gone she uses the word "destroyed", meaning she wants to snuff out the minority culture. I believe that the message Simon Rich is trying to convey is that even if we don't realize it, without the minority culture we wouldn't be able to function. Carlos does all the work nobody wants to and does it without question. Without Carlos the classroom would be a mess and the hamsters would be long gone.
ReplyDeleteSam
ReplyDeleteIn the short story "Animals", by Simon Rich, the conflicts between dominant and minority groups are clearly represented. To begin with, the title of the literature is "Animals" which is a direct correlation to the minority people. Animals are used to portray this group of people, and all the hardships they endure on the daily. The dominant culture was represented by the students, who tend to come from wealthy families and have never faced such set backs. However, these children are referred to as Gremlins, which in my opinion is unfair. At this age, the children are still innocent and don't know any different from what they hear at home. One act of discrimination, is when the students pick up the hamsters by their tails. It is quoted as "Back breaking" which is disgusting and sad. This is directly tied to the minority culture in America, who often are completely controlled by the dominant culture, and there's nothing they can do to help it. Another example would be when a father hamster has a dress put on him, in front of his children. The humans also give this male hamster a female name which helps prove the same point. The dominant culture will harm, humiliate and do anything else to benefit themselves. Lastly, I think the most clear, and specific act of discrimination, is when the people of the school say "Hola" to their Hispanic janitor. Whether they think they're being funny, or are trying to be polite, it is another act of discrimination. Carlos speaks fluent English, which could make this act a negative shot at his culture and heritage. We see it again, the dominant culture not seeing the minority as equal. Not perceiving them as just anyone else. All these acts re inappropriate and unfair, whether the students/ staff members realize it or not. This short story is direct In proving that the dominant culture is disrespectful, and sometimes blind to their actions with the minority culture.
I believe simon rich is trying to get his readers to understand all the hardships that an adult will go through just to provide to the best of there ability for the kids. He does this through the eyes of a hamster family because most of the time the audience will care more about the animal then the human (ex: I am legend) so through out the story it talks about how the father hamster has to ration out the last of there water and fuel because Simon, the kid assigned to hamster duty, does not feed them. Little do the readers know that what is going on with the hamster is also happening with Carlos just in different ways. Carlos has to deal with all the racist and prejudice saying that are said towards him, like when he gets adios and gracias and hola thrown his way he has to toughen up and endure all that to provide for his family at home. So while the hamster have to go with out food and all the loud noises around them Carlos deals with ungrateful people and racial remarks even tho he speaks fluent English.
ReplyDelete5 word/phrases: hola, adios, my dads making me go to the oprah, God created something that could be so painful, sociopaths
Opera*
DeleteIn "Animals" by Simon Rich, the conflicts between the dominant and minority cultures are shown through a story told from the perspective of a hamster named Princess Jasmine. He is representative of the minority culture.Carlos, the janitor, is an actual human in the minority. The children, and even the principal, greet him with "Hola" even though he is a native English speaker. He does every job that the children are supposed to do, except be the line leader. The minority will never be ahead of the dominant culture. Him and his sons are dying of hunger and thirst because the "gremlins, sociopaths, terrors, and little racists" don't pay attention to them and don't help them. The obese terrors put a dress on him in front of his children and all of his dignity had been lost. The kids also hold him by his tail which is back breaking and he also a female name. The dominant culture controls the minority, and there is nothing they can do about it. When he finally retaliates, the parents get angry addressing the hamsters as "those animals" and how she wants them "destroyed". Rich is trying to show that without the minority culture, we wouldn't be able to function. They do all the dirty jobs and take so much abuse from us. Without Carlos, the classroom would be a mess and the kids would actually have to do some work and wouldn't have anything to abuse because the hamsters wouldn't be there either.
ReplyDeleteEvan Arnold
ReplyDeleteThe story relates to the real world in the fact that it explains how most of the dominate culture treats the minority. The hamsters seem to represent the minority and the children are the majority. It also shows this literally by how they treat Carlos. The children show how the majority doesn't realize how they are treating the minority. Other minority cultures are able to see this and help each other out.
1. "Animals"- they compare the minority culture to animals and basic make them seem not human.
2. "Hola" - the children say this to Carlos, and these kids don't even realize they are using the stereotypes.
3. "Monsters" - the children are compared to monsters, and the children are evil but they don't even know.
4. "I want them destroyed" - this shows how the majority culture is able to have more power over the minority.
5. "Because he’s tough. And strong. And he works long hours, even though it’s a living nightmare" - Carlos says this about the hamsters and it basically means that the minority has to work harder to get ahead in society.
Hollie Flack
ReplyDeleteIn the short story “Animals” by Simon Rich the conflicts between both the minority (guinea pigs, Carlos) and dominant (school children, parents, teacher, principal) culture are represented very clearly, “Animals”, being the title of the short story, sort of sets the mood to begin with. The story is told from the guinea pigs point of view, which then becomes a correlation between them, and Carlos. The father guinea pig works hard for his babies, trying to keep them alive and well, because he never knows what could happen next, like lack of food or water that is supposed to be given by the school children. Carlos works hard for his family as well, because his little girls are also his pride and joy. As the janitor at school, Carlos, has to do many things that are asked of him (seems to me like the teacher and principal were very demanding and told him to do things, how to do things, and expected them to be done immediately) when it came to Carlos having to literally kill the guinea pigs and throw them away, he couldn’t do it ( it’s because of their correlation with one another).
Significant words/phrases:
“ For months, I assumed that this school was reserved for children with “special needs.” Sociopaths and the mentally deranged. But during parent-teacher night, the mink coats and charcoal suits told a different tale. It turns out this school is a private one, an “élite” institution for the children of millionaires.”(Rich)- When Princess Jasmine finds out that he lives in a private school, I mean it sort of makes sense as to why the children are the way that they are, lack of parent-child contact, well off children that expect things instead of working for them.
““You’re a pretty girl, Princess Jasmine!” Alyssa says. “A pretty, pretty girl!””(Rich).- the children just assume that the guinea pig is a girl, which he is in fact not a girl, but, the father of the guinea pig babies.
“Hola” the children, teacher, and principal all talk to Carlos as if he was a native Spanish speaking person. Huge prejudice and discrimination on their part, just because of the color of his skin.
“My dad’s making me see opera,” she complains.- stop it ms. Hudson, your white privilege is showing. She complains about going to the opera while he is cleaning up a pile of puke that one of her students made because of her lack of being able to control the class in a proper manner.
Simon Rich is simply portraying dominance over other cultures. The kids, most likely representing the whites in the US, are free to roam around, pretty much act like they want and have a whole world to explore outside the school. The hamsters, on the other hand, representing the minority culture, are often forgotten and treated like animals without feeling.
ReplyDeleteWhen Simon picks up his tail, it shows that the dominant culture isn't helping, only hurting.
When the chant "That's all right, that's OK" happens, represents the dominant culture trying to fix things, failing, saying "oops" sarcastically, and repeat.
Carlos most likely represents the rare minority among the dominant culture, though racially abused, is somewhat respected by everyone else.
Princess biting Simon show the minority fighting back. But Simon's mothers' response represent the media and judicial system, saying that a "wild animal" bit Simon. This goes as far as suing the private school. The mother also wants the hamsters gone for good.
Carlos is at the school to clean up after the kids, having the one minority in the dominant group to do their dirty work.
In "Animals" by Simon Rich the relations of the minority and dominant culture are shown in the perspective of the life of hamsters, well one hamster in particular. The hamsters are shown to be the minority culture in the story and the humans are the dominant. One of the many things that stands out when reading this story was when the mother of one of the students referred to the hamsters as just "those animals...". This shows how she didn't relate any feelings or emotion towards the hamsters and felt disgusted by there presence. This was to show how many of the cultures in our society get treated every day. The janitor whom is also a minority in the story named Carlos is treated with disrespect by everyone at the school. They all approach him with "Hola" even though he is fluent in English and is his native language. Just how many people are stereotyped without even being known. The dominant culture which are the children in the private school are thought of by the hamsters as "Nightmares", and "Gremlins". The minority culture perceives others as well. When the principle says "I want them destroyed" it shows how the dominant culture can be overpowering to the minorities without effort.
ReplyDeleteGrant Goss
ReplyDeleteSimon Rich crafted a beautifully written satire of a grade school classroom. His representation of private school children and parents was comically accurate and realistic. The best part of the story was the fact that the pet hamster was the smartest character in the room. His tone suddenly shifts from sentimental when talking about his wife’s death to comedic when describing the chaotic school children.
The first significant phrase that stuck out to me was “… the mink coats and charcoal suits told a different tale. It turns out this school is a private one, an ‘elite’ institution for the children of millionaires.” The author’s use of quotations around “elite” emphasizes the phony label of the school since the atmosphere of Ms. Hudson’s classroom doesn’t remind the reader of an advanced curriculum. Even though parents think that the institution is elite, reality proves otherwise.
Another phrase I thought was significant was “I watch in stunned silence as [the teacher] hands the little moron a sticker, as a reward for ‘trying his best.” Once again, Rich uses quotations around “trying his best” to point out the ridiculousness of the teacher. The author’s purpose of using this phrase was to show the feel-good attitude of the teacher, who never wants her students to feel bad about themselves. The student answered Mexico when asked what country is north of the United States. I don’t think that is deserving of a sticker or praise.
The third phrase I want to note is along the same premise of the last quote. Jasmine the hamster says “[The students] have been taught that they’re infallible, as perfect and blameless as gods.” Rich’s tone is connotatively negative, which is why I believe his purpose is to express his discontent with the “feel-good” style of teaching. Perhaps he was educated in a similar way as a young man and suffered from it when he grew up and got into the real world. Perhaps he is trying to signal that this style of teaching children may seem positive and uplifting at first, but ultimately doesn’t prepare them for the rigors of the real world.
Another phrase I thought was significant was when Jasmine said “Carlos is a native English speaker, but the little racists assume that he is foreign-born.” The teacher actually started this trend of saying “hola” when Carlos walks in the room, and the students follow suit. They assume Carlos speaks Spanish based on the color of his skin, so it is quite funny when the children and teacher speak to him like a foreigner, not to mention offensive.
In this highly symbolic short story Animals by Simon Rich, the honest relationship between Majority and minority culture is shown. By using the microcosm of this classroom, Simon Rich discusses some of the issues that minority culture faces. Carlos and the hamsters show the relationshios of diffrent minorty cultures. If we examine the face that the diction used to talk to Carlos such as Holá correlate with the way that the hamsters are spoken to. Both of the examples of minority culture recognize the pain that the majority culture give to those "less than them". Another fact presented is that a lot of the prejudice and discrimination come to the Majority naturally. Thusly, they are dubbed sociopaths by Jasmine. This also makes sense of the fact that the children are called monsters and gremlins but also called infallible. To those oppressed, it is easy for those that are "winning the game". Although Carlos is not in a literal cage, he is obviously trapped as well. It becomes apperent that in the current situation, minorty cultures can only look to each other for the help they require.
ReplyDeleteThe short story animals shows prejudice In many ways. The children and the teacher automatically assume that the janitor, because he is not white, that his first language is not English. I would define this action as ignorance. Although most likely the children and teacher meant no offense to Carlos they made an assumption based on his race. Jasmine multiple times describes the children as hoblingoblins or monsters. In this sense there are very words more fitting. The author is giving us a point of view that we rarely see, one that is double sided and complex. The author gave Princess Jasmine a creative vocabulary vocabulary to make us understand his point of view. More so to paint a picture in our minds as to what it would be like to always have to depend on someone else to get buy in life. The author made Carlos an important character in the story. Towards the end when Carlos is about to get rid of the hamsters he repeatedly says sorry. This is interesting because Carlos has done nothing wrong. He has absolutely nothing to apologize for. Carlos was simply receiving and doing orders as he's told. I believe this is a short snapshot of what his entire life has been like. One of the most important lines is said by Carlos. “ Because he's strong and he works long hours even though is a living nightmare”.( Rich pg 4) Here we finally understand that Carlos and Jasmine have been living the same life. They both are trying to make it doing whatever they have to do to get by. Carlos sees himself in Jasmine because Jasmine lives in a cage and metaphorically speaking so does Carlos. They both have no choice but to suck up and out their family first. Simons message was to write a story with a light hearted approach but also with a deeper meaning.
ReplyDeleteThere was many forms of prejudice in 'Animals" the guinea pigs represented the minority culture and also symbolized Carlos. the teacher, kids and parents all represented the dominate culture. At first i was a little confused on why they would write from a guinea pigs perspective but really enjoyed it, it catches the readers attention and more engaged. Between carlos and the guinea pigs it really showed how often the dominate culture looks down upon the minority culture. produce acts is when the author calls the kids "monster" or spoiled" A discriminatory act is when the teachers or even kids will talk in Spanish and say "hola" just because he is Mexican. The kids being the dominate culture to the guinea pigs payed little to no attention to them. Making them starve to death. The kids put a dress on him in front of his kids and his dignity was lost. The guinea pigs were seen as objects and meant nothing to the students.The dominate culture controls the minority and there is nothing that they can do about it. Rich talks about how without minority people we wouldn't be able to function, they do all the dirty work for us. The hamsters are physical treated horrible this shows how there dominate culture will deprive the minority culture from happiness because they are seen as different or less than us.
ReplyDeletePeyton Schendt
ReplyDeleteIn the short story "Animals" by Simon Rich, there are many forms of prejudice that can be seen. The guinea pigs and Carlos symbolized the minority culture, as the teacher, principle, Simon, and the rest of the kids symbolized the dominant/ majority culture.
I found when the author says “Carlos is a native English speaker, but the little racists assume that he is foreign-born" to be very offensive. The teacher of all people was the one to first discriminate Carlos and use Spanish words when speaking to him such as "hola". Just because of his skin color, the teacher and the principle, along with the kids assume that he cannot speak English. It goes to show that the dominant culture thinks less of the minority culture.
Another part I found comical is when Simon's mom referred to the guinea pigs as "wild animals". Calling the guinea pigs "wild animals" is the same thing as calling the minority group animals and not treating them like humans.
Simon's mom insisted that the guinea pigs get "destroyed". Rich show's how the majority culture has more power over the minority culture.
The school that this takes place in is an 'elite' institution for children of millionaires. The children act very privileged and snobby. I know that not all rich people are snobby, but in this case, the stereotype matches for them.
The last part I found discriminating is where Simon picked up Princess Jasmine by his tail and he mentioned how horrible the pain was. "It was back breaking". This made me think of how the minority culture, like slaves, would break their backs doing work for the dominant culture and all they would do is laugh.
The authors choice of words and phrases really painted images in my mind and allowed me to understand how horrible the dominant culture ACTUALLY treats the minority.
There were many acts of prejudice in the story "Animals." One that sticks out to me the most is that when the school staff an students would address Carlos they would speak to him in Spanish, even though Carlos didn't speak Spanish. They just made assumptions about him. The dominant culture does this a lot to the minority culture, which is discrimination. The kids acted like they didn't care about anything because they are rich. People who are rich have money and power, and they forget that people in the world are different than them.
ReplyDeleteSimon, the author, realized thirty years later what a bad person he was when he was little. This part gave me hope because all people can change their ways and realize that there are people who are different than them.
In the end Carlos did the right thing by taking the hamsters home. They weren't being taken care of. All of the rich white kids were so busy worrying about themselves. He took them home to his own kids. He named the hamster Hercules, because he felt like he could relate to the hamster.
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